A desert Rose
by bentothegreat
Summary: this is a squeal to my story "love and other curses" i will attempt to make the chapters sort of like a serial one shot. continuation of the same beloved Qasala family. expect drama, romance, magic, fighting, heartbreak... an MURDER...:) it will take a bit to get into the story but it will become more interesting. the kids need to grow up before i make their lives too bad.
1. Chapter 1

Prince Jazan V peeked out from behind his hiding spot in the curtains. He could hear the Nightsteed in the garden. If he could just stay still for a little bit longer, he would have won the game of hide-and-seek, and would get to stay away from lessons for the day — that had been their agreement. He saw two advisors approach and begin a hushed conversation. It was not until the ten-year-old red Kyrii heard his name that he paid them any mind, though.

"Well, if the queen says no, what are we expected to do?" one of the advisors was saying.

"We can't do anything but hope the king or prince sees sense," another replied.

"But the bloodline!" exclaimed the other. "We can't trust some young teenager to ignore his own feelinsg and choose a Qasala bride! For all we know, he may pull another street urchin into the royal family! Yes, our queen has done well, but her birth and upbringing has lowered Qasala's political respectability. Did you know that Meridell's noble women hide their valuables when she visits?"

Jazan wiggled in his hiding spot, straining to hear better.

A Bruce, whom the price recognised as one of his father's least-favorite advisors, was one of the speakers. "What we should be worrying about is if the boy is even loyal to the country," he said. "My family has intermarried with the royal family for generations. Our blood built this city. I do not see how some upstart could possibly have the same loyalties!"

The Nightsteed then entered from the courtyard, saying in a dark voice, "May I remind you, advisor Sash, that it was wife"was the Qasala noble…? You were merely a merchant until you married her… I have nothing wrong with 'upstarts;' however, if we are making accusations… at least the queen can trace her heritage to a princess."

The Bruce paled a bit, but said in a rather haughty voice, "With the death of my wife, I feel it necessary to raise our child as she would have been raised by her mother: to see the welfare Qasala as her priority, with pride and love of her country. She wants nothing more than to be of use to her country!""She is not six months old yet. She wants nothing at all,"

one of the other advisors said. "However, I do agree with Advisor Sash that we should encourage the royal family to pick a bride for the crown prince… at the very least, it will encourage him not to marry the first pretty face he sees when he becomes old enough. If not, it could prove…"Nightsteed cut him off.

"The king is aware of the political advantages that come with arranged marriages, and the queen understands that the country is actually in need of funds after the rebuilding. If, despite those things, the parents still wish to leave their son free, do you think that they will arrange a marriage just to keep the court happy?"

Jazan watched as they left. He knew what an arranged marriage was. It had just never occurred to him that anyone would wanthim to marry someone. Not yet, anyway… He knew about babies, of course. He had always enjoyed reading, especially medical and magic books, and had found out how babies were made a long time ago… but, until that moment, he had not thought about how the court was probably anxious for another heir. True, there was Ata, but the desert Ixi had inherited his mother's stubbornness, his father's temper, and always acted before he thought. That combination was… not what one wanted in a king… Amber could maybe be a good queen, despite being second-oldest. Sons got presidency in inheritance of titles and throne, though, so she was actually third in line for the throne; and, anyway, the pink Kyrii wanted to become a mage, so it was unlikely she would want to learn how to rule the country… Summer was only three, so there was no telling what she would be like. Jazan smiled. Summer, a lovely, delicate pink Ixi, was the family pet. Treated like a queen already, she was a bit spoiled, but she had such a sweet temperament that it actually did not bother anyone. Although, their father was actually in a panic because she did not seem to be a magic user… he seemed concerned that she could have something wrong with her.

The young Kyrii prince could hear Nightsteed calling his name, telling him that he had won, but the prince found himself unable to enjoy his victory. He came out of hiding and went to sit and think in his father's study — the only room in the royal family's quarters that tended to be quite most of the time.

King Jazan looked up. His first-born son had not said a single word of greeting and had a very serious expression on his young face. "What's wrong, son?" the king asked.

"Father… has the court — or, I suppose, the advisors — been pressuring you to find me a wife?" the boy asked, looking up with dark, golden-brown eyes."

The king inhaled deeply. The main problem with Jazan Junior was that he was too wise for his own good. He had never acted much like a child.

"Your mother and I feel it would be best if we ignored them," the king replied. "You will choose your own wife. We do not intend to do more than advise you against girls that would not be able to handle being queen. And, of course, you can choose to ignore us. You have a duty to pick well, but we know that even a thief can be a wonderful queen, even if she is a bit unorthodox.

The young prince nodded, deep in thought. Qasala noble girls… there were a few of them. Sorra, she was kind of dull — boring, and uninterested in lively conversation. Juniper was more fun, but her love of fighting could actually be dangerous if she had a throne. Korra was sweet and smart, but scared of bugs… and that was a major turn-off, Jazan decided. So who did that leave? No girl came to mind. He could widen the search to include servants, but that went against what he was trying to do. "Who would you suggest as a traditional match, Father?" the young prince asked.

"No, Jazan," the king replied, looking up from his paperwork. "You are not going to sacrifice your own happiness for the kingdom. You can have both a healthy family life and a happy, prospering kingdom."

"But Father, the advisors were talking about the kingdom needing funds," the prince replied. "Maybe, if I chose a rich bride, the kingdom would have it easier. What about a Brightvale girl? They have a prospering kingdom!

"My son, you ares no marrying into a kingdom because you want their library…" the king replied, rubbing his temples.

"I'm not, though they do have nice libraries," the prince replied. "But who would be an advantageous match for our country, Father?"

Jazan the elder sighed. "I don't know. As I said, Nabile and I have not even considered it. And, most of the court is in the same boat as us, as far as the need for funds go. That is why we have that unpleasant Sash as an advisor. He married Advisor Kolorah and got the title upon her death. His family is filthy rich… although, she died before she could actually invest much into the economy and construction projects. But, there aren't many merchants of his level who are seeking titled or noble family ties to Qasala. We are still considered a recovering country.

The young prince nodded, then said, "Can't you make Advisor Sash invest in the country?"

"You don't have to worry about the country for a few years, son," the king replied. He then dismissed his overly-mature son with a wave of his hand. "Run off and play."

The prince obeyed, but brought arranged marriages up with his mother that night as she put him to bed. She was more definite against the idea, actually… her exact words were: "Over my dead body are you marrying some snooty, stuffed shirt, titled hussy."

"Prince Jazan had read a lot, and one recurring theme in all he read was that a price always did what was in the best interest for his kingdom. Jazan knew that the best thing to do would be to marry a rich girl with a title, but he also knew that the girl needed to be a good queen. He deliberately went and talked to the girls at school, but could not find a girl that was actually… well, interesting. As he walked back from the palace school, he passed a brown Cybunny who was bouncing a tiny bundle up and down in front of the castle gates. The prince stopped and approached the gates. It was obvious the guards would not let her in, and Advisor Sash was looking irritated.

"What do you mean we do not get to use the royal doctors? We are royals! They ares royal doctors! My daughter needs medical attention!" He stopped short when he saw the prince.

"Ahh, greetings, young Jazan!" the advisor said with a saccharine smile. "How have you been? I trust your father spoke to you about little Kiko here?

"The young prince shook his head

"No? Oh, well, must have forgotten. You see, my daughter Kiko is actually your fourth cousin. Almost a princess herself. And it seems such a shame that she is forced to be just a merchant, especially now that the court has decided that I should take an early retirement. So, I have already told the court she is looking for a husband. And, since our families have always been so close, I decided to offer her to you first. I actually have the paperwork here, my boy! Just needs your signature. How about you give your father a lovely surprise?!"

"Jen, stop!" the Cybunny griped. "She is ill, and she needs a doctor! Let the boy be. The king already told you no!"

Jazan motioned for the guards to open the gate and took the three into the royal hospital wing. The doctor simply gave the bundle some medicine and sent the Cybunny nurse and father away. The prince decided to take a look at the bundle and approached the crib they had placed the baby in. She was wearing a traditional black dress and shoes, but they were of a finer quality then even his own. She had dark red fur and bright gold eyes. He could actually see a bit of the royal family resemblance. All the relatives on his father's side looked like that… his mother looked nothing like anyone she claimed as family. Uncle Tomas looked completely different.

"She was a Poogle, though. Most of his father's family were Kyriis. A tuft of soft black hair stuck up on the top of her head in a spiky fluffiness that begged to be petted.

"That girl is worth more then the city," a nurse said as she passed the prince. "Don't bump her."

"What?" the Kyrii asked, confused./

"Her dowry is enough to build two Qasalas," the nurse replied. "Her mother managed to make sure that the girl had control of everything! The poor father is broke as can be. So broke he can't even afford to stay on as an advisor. That is why he is trying to marry her off. Some of the property will go to him when she marries. She still gets the money and jewels, though."

"Is it enough to rebuild the city?" the prince asked.

"Yeah, like, four times over," the nurse replied. "But she won't be able to help until she is married. And, even then, if she is raised in her father's house, she will be a greedy, snooty brat who won't even want to help.

"The prince walked to the family quarters holding a small bundle. A perfect queen did not exist yet, but he knew that, in about sixteen years, she would be perfect for the kingdom. The agreement had been simple: he knighted the Bruce — he could do that himself — and gave the merchant a golden bust of his mother's head (which, for some bizarre reason, were all over the palace, despite the fact that his mother did not like gold much and was not vain.) In return, he signed the papers, and would get to take the girl to be raised in the palace in a way befitting of a princess.

The Poogle, Lady Kiko, cooed happily in his arms. Her fever gone, and she seemed very happy to just look up at him and giggle. The Cybunny had explained that ex-advisor Sash had actually not played with her much. Some said he was heartbroken over the death of his wife. Others said it was over the fact that the little Poogle was not a boy. So the girl had been brought up by any servant that had free time, constantly passed on to the next, and they were always distracted by their duties, anyway. So, getting the full attention of the prince was extremely enjoyable.

"What you got there?" Nabile asked her ten-year-old son as he approached.

"The boy looked up and grinned. "The answer to all our problems," he replied.


	2. Chapter 2

"Vine looked at the six-year-old Poogle who sat staring at him. "You want — he gestured at the stern-faced child — "to be ready for a ball in less then a week?" he said, turning to the sixteen-year-old Prince Jazan, who was on his knees, begging with clasped hands.

"Father said I have to takespan class Jazan replied. "If I take her, it's just me taking my future wife to a party. If I take anyone else, it's a political skirmish. Not to mention the girl might do something in hopes of trapping me… come on! You're my best friend, and an amazing dancer!"

"The fifteen-year-old blue Zafara sighed. Jazan had a point. As the crown prince, his every move was watched. He couldn't sneeze/span/emspan classwithout someone panicking — mostly the girl, because she lived in a constant fear that Jazan would get sick again, like the last time when they thought he was going to die. And he was the best dancer in Qasala.

Vine tried to look at the girl as the enemy she actually was… well not enemy… more like rival… How long had it been? How long had Vine knew that he was broken? That he would never find love because… well…

"Please, be a pal!" Jazan begged adorably. "I need you to do this for me, your my best friend!

The Zafara could feel his will crumpling, but he held firm. "I said no!" the Zafara said, turning away."Fine," the sixteen-year-old crown prince of Qasala said, looking sad. "Fine… I'll ask Jema to go with me, I guess…"

"Vine sighed… best friend, huh? Well, of course. They were close, but Jazan was normal. Even if he was not, he was the crown prince. He had to produce an heir… there was no room for some fling that would never work… even if he could convince Jazan to try…

"Jazan picked the tiny red Poogle girl up and began to leave Vine's room, but the Zafara reached out to grab the edge of Jazan's robe as he passed. "You think of me as your best friend?" he asked.

"The Prince smiled adorably "What else would I see you as? You're like the brother I wish I had!"

Vine sighed. "Leave her… I'll see what I can do," the Zafara said, looking down to hide the tears threatening to spill from his eyes, dark brown hair flopping in front of his face… They were both boys… what else would Jazan see him as? What did he expect?

"So, what dance do you want to learn first?" Vine asked the Poogle girl, who was laying on his floor playing with a Werelupe plushie."

The girl looked up. She was cute, actually, with a short bob of dark black hair, large gold eyes, small and plump — like most Poogles — and dark red fur — a bit darker then most red coats… She was clearly of royal blood. But, because she had been raised by Jazan, she was, just… sweet. Lovable and sweet. It was hard to — no impossible— not to like her… despite how much the Zafara wanted to hate her.

"Umm…" The Poogle scrunched her face up, thinking. "One that will make my prince see me as a woman!" she said enthusiastically

"Girl, if I knew how to do that, we would not be having this conversation…" muttered the Zafara, looking unhappy.

"What's wrong, Mr. Vine? " the girl asked, setting her plushie away in a cave of couch pillows that Vine had embroidered himself.

"Oh, nothing, hun. Where did you even hear that?" he

"Hear what?" she asked absently, looking for something around the room.

"Where did you hear about making Jazan see you as a woman?" he asked"

"Oh, that… Lady Korra said that when she got in trouble for sneaking into Jazan's room naked. My king asked her what she was doing, and that's what she said… he seemed kind of mad." The Poogle said this as she started making a mote of a blue scarf around the pillow cave.

"What did Jazan say?" Vine replied, feeling nervous.

"Oh, he was not there," the Poogle said. "He was doing paperwork. He never sleeps in his room." She smiled, standing up to observe her work.

"Vine said, "If you don't add a bridge, your Lupe will drown, you know" he said.

The Poogle made a face and said, "He can swim."

Vine looked at the girl. He loved dancing. When he danced, he felt free. It was actually his dancing that had brought the Zafara into the palace. He did not know where he had been born, nor how he had survived what he did. As far back as he could remember, he had been used by the men that frequented the bar for whatever they wanted. Sometimes it hurt, sometimes he got gifts, but all the time he wanted to run. Then, one day, the bar owner had told the Zafara boy that if he learned to dance he could get off working in the night on the street corner.

If he learned to make the men throw him money, all he needed to do was dance. Vine had been taken to work with a bunch of girls for awhile. He learned to mimic their movements… learned how to seduce men. That was back when he was small enough to still look like a girl. Then, one day, one of the men had offered to buy Vine, and the bar owner had agreed

That night, the man had come and asked Vine to dance. Vine had obliged, and the man drank. Vine had enjoyed dancing. To him, dancing was freedom. If he danced, the men left him alone. They watched him. Undressed him with their eyes, but they left him alone. The man had then attacked the Zafara. Vine knew by then that if he fought, he would have lost… and, anyway, it hurt less if he did not fight. So he let the man fumble with his robe. Then, he stopped. His hands inside his pants, the man threw the Zafara boy across the room. Maybe it had been being knocked in the head that had broken him?

"The man had then sold him to some slave trader, who took him to a doctor who chopped off the offending signs of his gender and sent the boy to learn to sing. He was dressed in bright clothing, and made to sing and dance in the lowest bars, but at least the men did not touch him.

Then, King Jazan had started sending troops to raid the bars that were rumored to use children and slaves, and one of the people leading the raid had been a pink Ixi. She was the bored queen who had decided she wanted to help and had helped come and unlock the children from the shackles they were kept in when they were not dancing. She had taken the Zafara to the palace. He had been given a wage and told that, as long as he was good, he could be Prince Jazan's companion… and Jazan had been great. He was fun. He was kind. He was smart. He liked poetry as much as he loved flowers, he was fiercely loyal to his friends and family, and he seemed to actually want to take care of the people. Heck, he had, at ten-years-old, decided that he should pick a rich girl to be his bride and then raise her into a perfect queen, sacrificing falling in love for the sake of his people. That had been four years before Vine had come to the palace… and, for most of that time, Vine had known he was broken.

That he wanted nothing more then to switch places with the little Poogle girl.

He spent the next few hours attempting to get the girl to understand that dancing consisted of more then spinning around until she was a dizzy, giggling mass on the floor.

"No, watch me!" the Zafara groaned, standing back up and swaying his hips in time to the music. He allowed the music to move him, not even realizing that his dance had turned from a waltz to a seductive conversation about unrequited love. That was, until he heard the wolf whistle

"Oh, sexy man!" laughed prince Jazan, coming in.

"Vine opened his eyes, lowered his leg that was up next to his ear, and blushed horribly. "How much did you see?" he muttered.

"Enough to know why Mom said the worst men would eat you up if she let you back on the streets," Jazan replied. "Dude, that is not the kind of dance that can be done by men… or future queens… How are you even that flexible?"=

"Oh, shut up," Vine muttered. "I got… distracted…"

"More like absorbed," Jazan laughed. "Mom can do that too… she only does it for Father, though… and Father sleeps all the following day… and I have to deal with the court snickering all day…" Jazan sat down next to the Poogle, who had seemed to fall asleep. "What, did you bore her to sleep with your girly dancing?"

"Shut up," Vine muttered in return.

"Not surprisingly, Lady Kiko was not ready for the ball. She had been so excited she refused to go to sleep and was actually jumping around the dance floor saying she was Hopso.

"That's your work?" Jazan asked, approaching Vine, holding a punch glass.

"The Zafara rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. I also decided to dress her up in black robes as well."

"It's traditional," said Jazan, sticking his lip out in an adorable pout.

"its boring" the Zafara muttered in return. "She always looks like she is in mourning, or something."

Jazan laughed and said, "Yeah, probably. She looks so sad over there!" (she was hopping around the dance floor saying she was a Hopso)

"Dance with me, my prince!" the Poogle giggled as she sprang toward the prince.

Jazan bent down swung the girl into the air.

Vine watched as the pair danced, trying with all his might not to be jealous.

A few days later, Vine was walking through the market. He was unsure of what he was looking for. He only knew that he was looking for a distraction. It was then that he saw the man — the man that had owned him… but why was he out? He was supposed to be in jail with all the other horrible men that had been involved… Vine turned around, but not fast enough. He felt the shovel hit him in the head.

Vine was unsure how long he was out. All he knew was that it must have been a few days. The travel alone would have taken two days, and that was without stopping.

He could not understand most of what the men running the slave caravan were saying. He knew a few words of Sakhmet, but not enough to hold a conversation. All he knew was that the lot of them — there were about 100 — were being taken to the Haunted Woods to be sold to the highest bidder. He was tied up with the rest when he awoke, to walk to his future Hell with strangers. Some girls, some boys; children the age of Lady Kiko, mostly. Street rats trying to survive. Most were from Sakhmet, as far as he could tell.

These men were sick.

He hiked in the desert for the next few days, contemplating his mistakes in life. He realized that, at age fifteen, he should not have so many mistakes. Why did he have so many? He regretted trying to run the first time, when he had first been raped as punishment for running from his master's wife when he was supposed to be cleaning. He regretted thinking the royal family were a bunch of snobs and calling Prince Ata a little bitch on countless occasions. He regretted not treating Kiko better — she really was a sweet girl, after all. But, most of all, he regretted never telling Jazan how he felt. Why had confessing been so hard? The worst thing the prince would have done was turn him down. Jazan never hated people. No matter what someone did, he always forgave them if they apologized… even if they did not.

"Eat!" a gruff voice said with an evil joy. "We will be there soon. You will need your energy, prettyboy."

"Go fuck yourself," the Zafara replied, snatching the bread and water and receiving a good beating for his verbal rebellion. Vine knew his rib had been broken. And his leg felt bad, too…

"He lay scuffed up and bleeding next to the rock that barely shaded his body from the harsh desert sun. He could hear a girl scream. She was small — about Kiko's age — and plump as though she had been well-loved and well-fed before. She could have been Kiko. Vine wondered at his own strength as he stood up and began to walk toward the girl./

"Yo, ugly! How about you pick on someone your own size?!" he said, actually running towards man attacking the girl. Adrenaline, he decided, was amazing.

The Tonu stood up and lifted his hand, about to hit the Zafara with a hammer, when a blur of red and black jumped out, riding a white Uni. The world around Vine went black around the edges as he fainted./

He could hear Jazan… the girl would be okay… nobody could fight against Jazan and win. He may have been merciful, but he was a mage and warrior…

Vine woke up feeling a cool rag cleaning the blood from his face. "You're a mess, Vine," Jazan said softly. "What were you thinking, picking a fight with those guys? I thought I had lost you for a bit there… You know I'm no good at healing spells…"

Vine watched as Jazan stood up to clean out the water. He could feel bandages on his body. Jazan had always been irritated about not being able to use healing magic, and had learned how to bandage someone up and set bones and do stitches. He had even talked about going to medical school in Neopia Central or Brightvale.

Vine reached out, testing his hand. Stitches… but not too bad. He didn't actually hurt too much, so Vine supposed that the prince must have put some kind of spell on him to help with the pain. "Jazan," Vine said weakly.

The prince rushed to his friend's side.

"Sorry about this," Vine muttered, then grabbed the prince's robe and pulled him down to kiss him.

Several things went through Jazan's mind. The first was, "Guess Mom was right…"Vine is gay…" Shortly followed by, "Hell… my first kiss is with my best friend… Kiko is going to murder me…"

One other thing was pushing at the back of his mind… but this he chose to ignore. The fact that he knew how much bravery it must have taken the Zafara to act did not help with the ignoring of it, though.

Jazan said, "Vine, stop. You are hurt. You don't know what you're doing."

Vine gave a dry chuckle and replied, "I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm doing what I have wanted to do for years, but never had the guts to do… but you won't hit me if I'm all beat up. Taking advantage of your weakness, my friend… my love…"

Jazan turned away, smiling sadly, and said, "We can't, you know. We can't."/

"Yeah, I know," Vine replied, tears streaming down his face. "I'm broken… I should be chasing girls, not boys… I'm sorry… I can't control how I feel, though, and I regretted so much never telling you… I thought I was going to die without having said a thing. I know it won't work. I know you want to be with a woman… and Kiko will be a fine one, one day… she is very lucky… she does not know how much….

"It won't work…" Jazan said, his heart aching. "Can't work… but my supposed indifference is not the problem. Kiko is not even the problem, as I think that, at six, she would get over it. The problem is that I have to produce an heir; and, as amazing and talented as you are, I think that will still be a problem…

"Mom always said I was gay… I kind of already knew I was gay, but I just… ignored it, I guess. the only person i ever even had a crush on was you, though actually i thought you were a girl at first. told myself thats how it started. I love you, Vine. I don't know if that helps or hurts, but… if we are being honest, I need to say it."

Vine sat up suddenly… "Ouch!" he exclaimed, clutching his chest.

"Stupid!" Jazan gasped, rushing to the side of the Zafara. "What do you think you are doing?! You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Ignoring his pain, the Zafara hugged the prince with all his might and said, "Maybe we can try anyway…? We are young… we might break up, but we can try… enjoy today…"

Jazan pulled away, looking at the Zafara. Dark blue fur; bright, brown, tear-filled eyes; dark brown, floppy hair that covered half his face… it was not fair… and, what was worse was that Vine thought he was broken for being the way he was…

"We can try," Jazan said. "It might be wrong, and it might not last… but we can try…" He then pulled away from the hug, pushing his friend back down and kissing him lightly.


	3. Chapter 3

Vine was cold — a problem that had become a regular occurrence in the house. As wonderful as Prince Jazan was… he was a messy sleeper. Vine stretched and moved out of bed, pulling the blankets back over the still-sleeping Kyrii and Poogle, smiling a bit. It had been eight months. Life had never, in his whole life, felt so perfect.

The first month had been rocky. Aside from the fact that Vine had been majorly hurt, Jazan seemed convinced that they needed to be so secretive it was suspicious. Vine had played along for a while, but was unsure of how long he would have had to have kept it up had it not been for Kiko and her big, fat mouth. She had apparently told the queen, who told the king, who gave the crown prince some sort of giant speech, which apparently resulted in King Jazan deciding to move Vine into the royal quarters.

It turned out that fearing the King was a major nonissue. Nabile, Fyora bless her, had apparently already prepped the king for the whole affair. It turned out that Nabile had seen their growing affections long before they did. The king had actually been more concerned for Kiko, since she had been raised in the palace — raised with and by the royal family. The king was, honestly, more concerned about what it would do to the girl's emotional health to separate her from the family, and the king told them that that would be what happened if her father caught wind of their relationship.

Kiko's father had visited the girl maybe five times in her life. Prince Jazan wasn't even sure if she knew that he _was_ her father. Like the rest of the royal children, she called the king "Father," and the queen "Mom." Vine thought Kiko knew that she wasn't actually a sibling, but he suspected that Kiko thought titles like "Father" and "Mother" were nothing more than titles like "advisor" and "prince."

Vine finished adjusting the blankets. When had Kiko gotten into bed, anyway? The two of them were trying to break the Poogle of her habit of crawling into Jazan's bed — or, Jazan was, anyway. It didn't bother Vine much. Kiko seemed to have a sixth sense that told her when she actually needed to stay away, and it usually was just on nights like the one before that she snuck into bed — nights when they would just lay awake, talking about nothing in particular, until one fell asleep. Vine suspected he had fallen asleep first, since he could not remember Kiko even getting into bed. Still, no need to have Jazan tell her she needed to be a big girl and stay in her own bed. He picked the girl up and took her to his own room, laying her in his bed. He then went back out into the main living area to see who else was up.

The queen was sitting at the table drinking coffee, looking like she hadn't slept. "Where's YOUR Jazan?" she asked, looking up from her mug.

"Still asleep," Vine replied, getting his own cup. "He fretted all night about leaving Nightsteed in charge of everything. Your Jazan up yet?"

"your Jazan" was an inside joke, usually not even uttered in the presence of the rest of the family.

"No," she muttered unhappily. "Hopefully he will sleep 'til it's almost time to go. Him and his checklist… It's driving me nuts. And, seriously, like we can't buy underwear and dental floss in Altador…"

Vine snickered a bit.

"It's not funny," Nabile said darkly.

"It's a _little_ funny," Vine replied. "Anyway, how are you planning on keeping the insomniac asleep 'til three?"

"Same way I always do," Nabile said with an evil expression on her face. "It's how come I get no sleep."

Vine sputtered a bit and burnt the inside of his nose with scalding hot coffee. "Please… spare me… too much information, my queen."

Nabile shrugged and said, "Hey, when you come up with a better way to control them, let me know. 'Til then, I've had more experience dealing with them than you anyway."

Vine rolled his eyes and made a mental note to stuff Kiko's ripped dresses into a big bag. The ride was going to be long anyway, and it would give him plenty of time to work on the repairs. She had recently taken up swords, and her enthusiasm was showing in her clothing.

"What the hell are you doing up?" Nabile asked, looking behind Vine.

The king had appeared behind Vine. "Please, Darling, I don't make the same mistakes twice," he said. "I have been storing a bit of my magic every day since the last time you used that little trick. Like I actually don't have more self control… Sorry, your evil little plan failed, and I actually feel great. Good night's sleep, and a huge magic boost." He ruffled Vine's hair as he passed. "Now, pull out a notebook, boy; I thought of more things we needed, and the queen needs to go rest, because she looks like a zombie. So, Darling, by order of the king, go to bed!"

Nabile stood up as the king sat down. She picked up the newspaper and hit the king over the head, just a little too roughly for it to be flirtatious…

The king laughed and turned to Vine. "Okay. So. Pen. Paper."

Vine groaned inwardly, wondering whether or not saying, "I'm your _son's_ assistant, not _yours_ ," would get him out of secretary duties.

Vine sipped his coffee and wrote down the king's instructions. This particular list was the ultimate sign of his micromanaging. Usually, the children were expected to help keep the royal living quarters clean, although Vine was pretty sure that _he_ was the only one who ever picked _anything_ up. However, since maids were going to be let in to clean, the king had decided to give them instructions, in minute detail, about anything even _remotely_ pertaining to the upkeep of the quarters. Vine bit his comments back about, "These are the maids that clean the rest of the palace; I think they know how to do XYZ."

"Vine, I'm hungry," Kiko said, rubbing her eyes. She crawled into a chair next to the king and looked at the Zafara expectantly.

"Be right on it!" Vine said cheerfully, rummaging through the cabinets for her cereal.

"Cereal again?" Ata, the eleven-year-old younger prince, said irritably. Unlike his older brother — or, perhaps, _because_ of him — Ata was not a cheerful person, _especially_ not in the mornings.

"I'll make you eggs if you'd like, but we all need to be prepping to go, so nothing that is going to take a lot of work," Vine said, handing the Poogle her bowl.

"Whatever. Fine. Cereal," the Red ixi said.

The king was silently watching the two eat. Vine knew what the look he was giving was about. In technicality, Ata was now the heir. The court did not know — only Nighsteed, the king's closest advisor and friend, knew — but Prince Jazan had resigned from his position as heir. Vine still felt guilty. Did he actually need Jazan more than Qasala did? Would the prince regret giving up being king for love? even if his parents had actually encouraged it?

But, that aside, there was still the problem of Ata. He showed no great skill at being a ruler. He was thoroughly self-absorbed, and actually rather bad-tempered. The mixture was not nice (some even whispered of him having taken after his grandfather). He had no interest in history; he was strong in his magical ability, but did not have much patience to learn the correct ways of doing spells; the only princely thing he was good at was swords and hand-to-hand combat; and, at eleven-years-old, the king and queen worried that his personality was set. The only hope that Qasala had was if Ata married well, and the obvious choice was the Poogle girl who was being prepped by the court and kingdom to be queen anyway. She was already referred to in the tabloids as "the future queen." It would make the official heir change so much cleaner…

Vine sighed. He loved Kiko. She was probably the closest thing Vine had to family. Jazan was… well, Jazan. He was so many wonderful things, but he was not a brother. He did not feel like family. Well… he did, but not in the way that Kiko did. Vine hesitated to say it — knew that it should sound strange — but, over the last few months, he had begun to see Kiko as a daughter; and, as such, he had become almost overprotective of the Poogle. He had to remind himself that he was overprotective, or else the calculative look the king was giving the children would have probably resulted in Vine being tried for assassination of the King of Qasala with a spoon…

The next few hours were spent packing and prepping for the trip to Alatador for the cup. It was a major event for the royal family — one of the only events where the Qasala people were on equal footing with the rest of Neopia. Actually, the king always claimed that, "This year we will win it all." He did take pride in always beating Faerieland, anyway.

By the time that the royal family was packed into their seats, Kiko had already fallen asleep. She lied in Vine's arms as the carriage began its long journey to Altador. Vine nestled up against the now-exhausted prince, again feeling warm, happy, and content. He looked up to see the king smiling a bit.

"What?" Vine asked, not being able to look the king in the face.

"Nothing," the king replied, "you three just look like you belong together. I was worried at first. It was not that I thought you were seeking money or power, though — more that I was just worried that, being so unconventional, my son might not have been… happy, I guess."

"We _are_ happy, Father," the prince said, already falling asleep, "and we _do_ belong together."

"I know, my son… my _sons_. " King Jazan looked at Nabile sleeping next to him. "I am just glad that you two did not have to wait 300 years to meet each other. We will deal with the rest in time. For now, be happy. Take care of each other. At the end of the day, that is all that matters."


	4. Chapter 4

not spell checked. if you wish to feel free to mail me :/ dylexia stinks :P

Summer, age 13, and Kiko, age 11 were standing in doorway. Jazan could see them. practically matching gold eyes. that Kiko looked so much like his children was a harsh reminded of years of inbreeding in his royal family... Kiko was actually a fourth cousin on her mother's side to his own children. that she could pass as one of his own was becoming more disturbing as she got older. it was in the eyes mostly, most of the royal family and a good deal of the court had golden eyes. red fur was common as well. just that she and Summer could have passed for twins. Summer was small for her age her mother had been too aperently, and she did take after her mother mostly. espeshally in the magic department... the shere lack of magic was shocking rely. magic was a dominate trait and Jazan could trace his own magic on both sides for genirations.

Summer had motioned for Kiko to follow her and the two girls were soon going threw a seacrit passage that Jazan knew came out behind a tapistry in the meeting hall. right behind him. the girls were sneeking in the meeting for some reason. not an unwelcomed interuptence, but why they were wanting to hear about the building of new sidewalks was beyond the king's comprehension.

he could feel kiko use an invisibility spell and felt two sets of hands under the table pull at his robes. Jazan smiled, he should rely scold the little angels for interrupting him, but rely he felt like pulling them onto his lap and letting them listen in tell they fell asleep of boredom. they would be too old for such nonsense soon and he wished to enjoy the little bit of the youngest child hood he had left.

rely summer was probably too old now... but she had always been his particular pet.

he reached down putting his hands on their heads and ruffling their hair. he fealt something cold and round pushed into his hands. confused he looked down at his lap and saw what was the reason the two girls had come to see him. eye makeup.

jazan looked over at the counselors arguing about building materials.

"Kiko you rely need to learn to do it yourself or give up" he wispered.

the Poogle girl gave him a cold glare and positioned herself with her face on his lap so that he could apply the traditional markings.

none of his own children had shown interest in wearing this particular piece of traditional attire. Jazan would at times, but always with loud complaining about stuffy get together and not wanting to look like some kind of stereotype qasala prince. The only one other then himself who could actually apply it was Vine. and vine hated Kiko wearing it so she would often make the king do hers if she was going out and about. she did it rather sloppy herself. her one failing as far as anyone could tell, was that she did not like sitting still. actually a trait Nabile claimed was part of the royal bloodline. "Jazan can sit still but he got that from me" the Ixi queen claimed.

Jazan finished up and shoved both the girls out from under the table, the court looked confused as the girls polightly bowed and walked out.

"did you see Lady Kora's face?" Summer asked

"did you see Lord Khal's?" Kiko giggeled back.

the two girls took each other's hands and started toward the palace gates. Vine was already there looking irritated.

"why did you put that shit on your face" He said fanning himself with small clip board.

"Mom says that that is a bad word and your making Ata swear like a sailor" Summer giggled.

"oh Ata has heard worse than my foul moth and our queen knows it. hell she says worse when she stubs her toe!" Vine snapped back.

he was not in the greatest of moods. Jazan had been away for over a week playing courtier in Marridel and recent tabloids had begun rumors of him having a secrit fling of Roberta of Brightvale... Vine knew this was stupid, Jazan did not have it in him to be unloyal. just the same it was not making him happy to hear the court discuss the possibility.

"be nice" Kiko scolded taking his hand and pulling him and her cousin to the gates "lets go shopping! this is the first birthday where we know Jazan won't be peaking at his birthday preasant!" she laughed and dashed ahead of the pair.

Ata sat in his window looking over the city. he could see summer and Vine and the poogle brat at the gates... why did his father let her stay? she was not going to marry Jazan, practically everyone knew that. no one was supposed to know about the crown prince and vine. but everyone could see that Jazan thought of her as his daughter and not future bride. she should have just been sent out, back to her REAL family.

he pulled his knees up to his chin. he wished someone would call him. give him SOMETHING to do. his train of thought was depressing. and watching Kiko, and Vine, and Summer was making it worse.

why were they always so happy? they had all the same rules he had, and yet no one expected them to spend all their time acting like nobility. Summer was the last in line to the thrown and actually not even. some obscure piece of legislature actually stated that if she did not have magic she could not rule.

it was Jazan who was going to rule, but he flownced around with his pretty boy lover and ata was left with the duties of a crown prince and none of the benifits. whats worse his father was always so cold to him. he would joke with the girls, and he and Jazan talked like equals. but his father always spoke to the boy as he did several of his courtiers. polite and judgmental at the same time.

and why? because he SAW that qasala's army was weak? it WAS! and yet his father left Jazan in charge of it despite that Ata was the better warrior.

or that he favored dark magic over fire? so what?! Jazan was an odity being born with fire and light magic. most of the qasala court was dark and fire magic users. its like being left or right handed! he was going to favor ONE of them. and sure dark magic could kill, but it delt with manipulating life forces so it could also heal. though WHY that should be useful he could not fathom.

if an army was good it would not need a healer... not for them anyway. and who actually wants their enimies healed?

and his mother was so... codling! she treated him like he did not know what was best for him!

he was 16 for crying out loud! at his age Jazan had a live in boyfriend and yet his mother still would say "ata dear, your not actually going to wear that sword to dinner are you?"

he put it on right? clearly he was going to wear it!

"whats up moody?" Amber said opening his door.

"bug off" Ata replied not looking at his pink Kyrii sister.

"keep that up and your going to get grounded again, you know Father would not be so hard on you if you would just ACT nice to people once in awhile" she said ignoring her brothers glare.

"father is playing at being a king and risking the safety of our people because of it. he acts as though he can gain respect from the rest of neopia just by being nice, even he has to know that only brute force will gain respect!" ata almost yelled at his sister.

"cool it bro, you know im a pacifist" she said none too delicately

"this whole fucking family is a bunch of pacifist pussies" Ata said stomping out of his room in a huff. honestly why did he bother trying to reason with her? father was letting her train as a mage, she had not had a royal lesion since she was 8. he had just let her do what she wanted, while as when he said he wanted to go to military school his father had flat out refused.

Jazan walked slowly behind the royal cart on the far outskirts of Qasala, depressed, looking forward to seeing Kiko and vine like a starving prisoner looks forward to meal. it was like the only thing keeping him going.

the threat was not an empty one... "marry my daughter next year or ill expose your relationship with that freak".

how did a maridillian knight even get info on Vine? most of quasala did not even question Vine being basically the sucsessor to the night steed. whats more Nightsteed took pains to take Vine to meetings and such to learn what the position of chief advisor intailed. the intention was two fold. one to keep their relationship under wraps, and another that Ata, for whatever reason, would actually listen to what vine said.

Jazan sometimes expected that it was halfway just that Vine had such a short temper. and he was very creative about revenge for pissing him off. interesting how a lack of magic seemed to make you a more creative thinker... he was a lot like his mother in that reguard.

Jazan snuck into the back of the palace and met his parents.

Mom, Dad... we need to move ahead of scheguile. i don't want to tell vine and Kiko yet. i need a break. but we are going to have to do the plan.

okay... so next chapter is going to be kind of short. going to introduce some of my own neopets. and a friend of the family. after that things are going to get a little dark you have been warned.


	5. Chapter 5

the wedding was lovely. Kiko was happy about that. she still felt like Ata was rushing everything, but surely wanting to marry her so fast was a good thing? it was more mature then trying to pressure her into bed with him anyway. and she knew he had experience with that sort of thing. not that she was okay with knowing he had hired women, or had flings with dancers and actreses. of course that bothered her. But the past two months Ata had been lovely. he sought her out, told her he loved her. heck he had even written her a few love poems. yes, she would have wanted to wait. extend their engagement. the court liked to talk. that they announced their engagement two weeks before the wedding date was making everyone talk. not that it mattered. she would take precautions, make sure the court ate their own words when she did NOT give birth to an heir within the year.

she and Ata needed time anyway. time to just be together, between using her money that she finally had access to rebuild the city, and Ata preparing heavily for the throne. yes, a year or two of just being together would be good for them. sure the king and queen had made a rushed wedding work, but she had known Ata forever. falling fully IN love and loving him were different things.

everythign went perfectly. the cake was lovely, her dress was lovely. Ata looked as handsome as always. the king spoke so warmly of watcing her grow up that it brought tears to her eyes. the king then joked that Ata had better work hard to desrve her. Kiko laughed along with the court, Ata was less amused by the jab. though the he must have been more nerviouse then he let on because he had been looking miserable threw the hole cerimony.

This bothered Kiko... she could not think of what would make him frown so. she had even looked over the crowd to see if she saw anyone in particular that would upset him. an old girlfriend perhaps?

they all had a look to them, tall, thin, ushally with light fur and gold or white hair. nothing like her. that he had chosen her when she looked nothing like what he found attractive was just more proof of how much he loved her.

how could she have said no? she still hurt over Zen, was still half in love with Zen. but Zen had made it clear she would have to pick. him or the royal family. he was not going to join the palace. no matter what.

again kiko wished that Vine could have been there... she needed his advice. then more then ever. so she did all she could think of. ask what vine would do.

Vine had always made it clear that Jazan should do what was best for the people. even if it meant neglecting him. because of this often Jazan would be away from home...

so kiko did what she was sure they would have wanted... had they been alive. she accepted Ata's hand, and officialy told Zen she would not write to him again. she felt bad about it of course. he was everything kind and honorable... save for the fact he was an anarcist...

then for the next two weeks it was a wirlwind of wedding plans.

turning Vine's old curtains into her wedding dress. last few unused pieces of his embroidery. a way to have him as part of her wedding. he could not be there to give her away... but she could wrap herself in his love and attention for her wedding. she had tried to get Ata interested in what she was doing but he was too busy getting the last reisidual bits of wild prince out of him she supposed. he was naturally angsty... supposedly sex had a calming affect on men... he was just dealing with nerves in the only way he knew how... still it was annoying. she would not even have known about it except that she had decided to slip him a love note under his door and had actually had seen him... the white Kougra girl that Kiko had never seen before sending the prince into rapture... just a week before their wedding.

she had ripped up the note intending to call off the engagement right then and there. but she knew that was rude and went to bed in a fume. however the next morning Ata was amazing. kind, sweet, doting.

Kiko had pushed it out of her mind. the reason was just to release tention in the only way he knew how anyway... and they would be married soon anyway. he would stop with the random paid women... she could make sure he never needed them again. it was better then drink anyway. and he could be so sweet and caring when in a good mood.

when he had been told he could kiss the bride she had looked up at him. glowing practically, this was the being of a new life, for both of them. she could look the rest of the family in the eye and know she was fully their family. she placed her hand in his and was about to lean in when she felt his hand squish hers and jerk her rather painfully.

it was not a real kiss... it was a peck. cold. Ata must have been embarrassed?

the rest of the wedding was a blur of congradulations and well wishings of the court.

she hummed as they left the dinner toward the room they were to share. Ata had arranged for it to be seperate from the royal courters, not as large, but then it was just the two of them.

she entered expecting roses and chocolates and plush. in short a honymoon sweet. the room was bear... in fact she could find nothing particurally special about it at all. she knew that she had given him some of the blankets and pillows Vine had made and yet the only things on the bed were Ata's bedding. not even new bedding. it was the same as it had always been.

she tried to burry her disapointment and walked over to the bed. he was nervouse perhaps? it was not every day that one would spend their first nights together. perhaps he just wanted to be in a familure inviroment?

this thought cheared her and she smiled tracing the pattern on the bed sheet with her fingers.

"everything was lovely! don't you think?" she said happily.

Ata looked hard at the plane faced, rather plump, short, poogle girl on his bed. how the hell had he gotten ropped into marrying the idiot girl? now there she was looking at him expectantly. the answer was obvious. a compliment to her organization skills, or a compliment to her looks.

"yes it was lovely, you arranged everything and did wonderfully" or "not as lovely as you my dear" both left a bad taiste in his mouth.

"ata? whats wrong?" she asked

"oh nothing dear, i was just considering that it never quite polite to fish for compliments. you arranged everything. of course you liked it. if you did not you have no one to blame but yourself. or were you wanting me to claim you were the most lovely part of the cerimony?" he was almost yelling now.

Kiko never took outberst well. her face pailed and she was staring at her hands in her lap.

"i was just trying to start a conversation... " she said softly.

"well then perhaps try a subject that actually interest me Lady Kiko" he replied coldly.

Kiko felt like crying now, the wedding was SUPPOSED to interest him. it was his wedding too! maybe she had put too much of what she wanted into it? after all it was his wedding. but he just had not seemed to want to help. she had tried to interst him several times and each time he had acted as though she was forcing him to pick out flowes, or napkins.

she looked at the blue embroidery thinking of Vine. what did vine do when Jazan was upset? he started comforting him, holding him, petting him. she could do that.

Ata was across the room, she closed the distance and held both his hands in her own "come now, lets not fight, this is a wonderful day for us and our country. we should be happy for now." she felt ata sqeese her hands. almost roughly. then pulled her by her wrist to the bed and begun tearing at her gown.

"Ata stop! this is Vine's embrodery you know i want this intact!" she said almost pannics. a rare occurence of her loosing composure.

ignoring her please Ata used magic to tear the dress oppen. Kiko looked more horrified then scared.

"why are you?" pain... pure pain. pain from what he was doing, pain where he bit her, pain in her heart at the coldness, pain from where he was pinning her down. surely this was not normal. people talked as though it hurt the first time. but not like this. no one would like something like this!

Ata finished. kiko lay saring at the wall. she wanted to cover up but fealt exhausted. miserable and too tired to even cover herself. and she knew she needed to go and make a healing salve. the bites and scraches and bruises... unless... Ata had strong healing magic. perhaps if she asked? she had let him do as he pleased... he owed her a little correct?

she felt disgusted at her own thoughts. he was her husband, she should not have done it expecting a reward. she should have done it because it was her duity. but did he not also have a duty to make her duty not a duty? not something that had to be done, but something she wished to give him?

it was confusing. and her mind was blurred. confused she sat up. pulling a blanket to her chest. ata had rolled over to face the wall. panting, but looking considerably less miserable then she flet. he just looked pissed off. but he ushally looked like that.

"Ata, you hurt me... can you heal up where you..." she was cut off by him sitting up glaring at her.

"go to your room." he said darkly "i am not going to waiste magic on some little bruse"

Kiko stared. she was confused, what was he asking? was she not in her room? their room?

he was pointing at an ajoining room. a dark door she had not taken notice of. she stood up, confused. legs wobbling. more pain.

it was some horrible joke. she took another step. she would step into that room and it would be filled with flowers and chocolates. she took another step. he would scoop her up and kiss her like he meant it. another step. more pain. she would run a bath. they could cuddle in warm water. he would heal her wounds. it only hurt because it was her first time. just a few steps more. he was not cruel. she almost fell. he loved her. if he did not... he would not have married her right? she fell, hitting her head on the hard, cold floor.

she could hear him getting up. good. she was right. he cared about her... he cared... the blanket was taken. she was lifted up and shoved into the cold, dark, room. no window. her own bed and bedding were still folded on a cot... no flowers. no nothing. no gifts. no love. no... thats not possible. why would he marry her? she had never done anything to make him hate her.

she knelt next to the cot. pulling one of her quites toward her. Vine's embroidery. it always made her feel better. loved. he said that he was sewing in his heart, his love, into every stich. Kiko was sure she could always feel his protection and love when she touched it.

but even vine could not reach her right now. the embroidery was lifeless. dull. nothing would come from that kind of embroidery... it was not rely going to protect her.

bags of her own cloths lay around the room. tossed without care inside.

Ata did not love her... he married her for duty. but that was okay. she married him for duty as well. they could fall in love. love was like that. it could grow anywhere if people tried to let it grow. she just needed to talk to him. explain she wanted to love him. that she wanted him to love her. surely he would see that for everyone love would better then no love.

their would be children. they should grow up being loved and loving. she would talk to him. logically. soundly. she lay in her cot feeling alone and cold. being a magic user stank... sex was strong. it drew out her energy and left her a heap of weakness. but at the same time pain made her allert and irritated. she could not sleep. she lay cold and lonely and miserable. and could not even work up energy to move...

she could hear Ata moving in the room ajoining hers. he was getting dressed.

Kiko rolled over. ever fiber of her body aching... they were supposed to leave for the honey moon today. she was not wanting to go... but at the same time the last thing in the world she wanted was for the palace to come looking for her... to face the king and queen. to tell them how unhappy she was. plus they would need time alone if anything was going to work...

how the heck had it come to this? Vine... Jazan... Dawnscar... she had known love before. once. so so so long ago. no... it was not long ago at all.

okay, a tad out of order. but ill circle back when i find the actual next chapter

sorry about


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